


Varrick Deserved Worse

by hanekawa_irl



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Moderate (nonlethal) violence, Varrick Sucked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26060692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanekawa_irl/pseuds/hanekawa_irl
Summary: Zhu Li is fed up of dreaming, and refuses to tolerate Varrick's corruption any further.
Relationships: Varrick/Zhu Li Moon
Kudos: 4





	Varrick Deserved Worse

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place at an indeterminate time between seasons 3 and 4, while the Earth "Kingdom" is fractured but before Kuvira starts her mission of unification.

"Zhu Li, do the thing", he ordered, shoving out his.. urgh.. absolutely disgusting foot into my face.

Instinctively, a "yes, sir" emanated from my mouth, and my hands set to work pulling various soaps and lotions from a nearby cupboard before slathering them onto varrick's outstretched appendage.

This monthly activity had become so ingrained in my body that I just observed as my eyes and hands treated and polished the skin until it was blemish-free and practically gleaming. In a perverse way, I was almost proud of how I had been able to block out the.. sensations.. that had so plagued me when I began working for the magnate.

There was a lot that I had managed to block out.

As Varrick repeated his catchphrase and offered up his other foot, my mind had completely dissociated from the task my body was performing. As usual, I thought of the future I would have away from him. After all, thanks to spending a decade servicing a genius inventor I was now one of the most skilled technicians on the planet, and I could easily make a living while barely breaking a sweat.

It was so blissful. No orders, no scrambling to determine the most recent "thing" I had been asked to do, no war profiteering, no bribery, no politics, no… feet. Just myself, laying in my bed and reading novels to while the day away. The me in the fantasy let out a contended sigh, dropping the book onto her chest and resting her eyes for a moment. The feel of the linen beneath me, the gentle warmth, the relaxing smell of lavender. Everything was as I wanted. Everything was perfe— 

"Zhu Li. Do the thing."

The me in the fantasy went into a panic, launching from the bed and almost breaking down the door to find out how Varrick had tracked her down. She would never be subservient to him again. No matter what it took.

And then the dream dissolved. I had finished cleaning Varrick's second foot, and we had moved on to a test for a shock-sword he had designed. There was a mannequin standing in front of me, and the "thing" that had shattered my dream this time was slashing the mannequin to ensure the sword shocked properly. I swung, with perhaps a bit more force than I would have normally.

"That was great! Exactly the voltage we needed, and it discharged at the perfect time too! Now clean this all up and write up a contract for a thousand of these to be delivered to that Earth Kingdom warlord. Oh, and clean this all up." He gestured toward the mess of wires, sensors, and electrical components that had slowly littered the floor since we began working.

My body turned to switch off the sword's power supply and place it back in its sheath.

"Zhu Li! Where's my tea? I told you to make sure this pot never got empty!"

A blinding flash of rage forced my body to pause, and I took full control of my body for the first time in weeks. Very deliberately, I turned my body back. But not to the mannequin. I stopped, directly facing Varrick, the sword humming beneath my grip.

"Zhu Li? What's wrong?"

"I. Am. Done. Working. For. You."

The first strike sailed just over his ducking body, making the hairs on his body stand on end. He had dodged it. Somehow. He wouldn't dodge the second.

Putting all of my rage into the swing, the flat of the blade struck him square in the cheek. The sword lit up in a dazzling light, and a small yelp escaped from Varrick's lips before he passed out cold.

The weapon had discharged, but my rage was far from spent. I kept smacking his motionless body about, pouring every emotion I had suppressed into my former master's body.

Tears were streaming from my eyes and my hair was hanging disheveled in front of my face by the time I finally stopped hitting him. I carefully stepped away and put the sword in its sheath. Then I made my way to Varrick's office.

I didn't want to kill the man, but I had to make sure he wouldn't be able to continue hurting people from afar by sparking wars whenever his pocketbook looked a bit light.

I had already made the arrangements. The vast majority of his wealth would go to the new air nation, popular movements, and war-torn communities in the former Earth Kingdom. But I knew that wasn't enough to make amends. Varrick would be able to spin it his way and sell them weapons, becoming richer than ever.

So I had a book keeping track of every dirty thing Varrick ever did. I put on my coat and left the company's headquarters, walking to the office of the Republic City Times.

Dropping the book at the front door, I rapped twice on the wood before vanishing into a nearby alley. A confused shout told me they had noticed.

Sliding into the driver's seat of my Sato-mobile, I hit a road going out of Republic City, feeling the wind flow around my face and ripple through my hair. Finally. This wasn't a dream. I was finally free.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it got weaker and less expressive to the end but it's almost 4 am and I can't be bothered to edit (or wait until I sleep to post). Also I had originally wanted it to be more violent but it felt wrong for Zhu Li and her relationship with Varrick so I just left it at her hitting him a bunch and dismantling his company.


End file.
